This invention relates to portable work stations, and storage containers, used for creating fishing lures and flies.
The art of fly tying is a critical part of fly fishing. The closer the artificial lure looks to what the fish are interested in eating, the better the chance that a fish will give it a taste test. The most successful fly fishermen are those who can successfully observe nature, then react to and copy it as closely as possible. Fly fishermen study the life cycles of the whole food chain and how each part interacts with the other. To be successful the fly fisherman must create lures that imitate creatures in metamorphose or distress, such as those that fly or crawl swim or hatch. Nature is versatile and each new season and body of water has aquatic, and land creatures in numerous colors, shapes sizes and stages of development. Just as the lures in nature change, it is advantageous to the fly fisherman to change the artificial lures used.
It is of great benefit to the fly fisherman to have an extensive fly tying kit available on a fishing trip, especially if "the one that got away" took the last killer artificial fly with it, or the fish are biting on a bug that isn't even close to any lures they have.
A variety of methods and devices exist that attempt to fill this need, but are often inadequate under many circumstances. For example, the tote bag for fly tying equipment and materials of U.S. Pat. No. 5,052,555 appears to have a large material and tool capacity. However the tools and materials are not visible or easily accessible, they are hidden behind zippers and closures. Chemicals such as glue and floatant are not kept upright, allowing the possibility of leakage. The soft bag does not provide adequate protection under many circumstances for delicate and expensive materials such as large rooster necks that can cost in excess of $200.00 each. The tote bag also does not provide a work surface or a place to mount a tying vice.
The combined workbench and carry case of U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,071 is fascinating and very complex. It has many moving parts and is most likely quite expensive to make. Its complexity, unfortunately, uses up much of its potential storage space. The chemical containers such as glue and floatant are turned on their sides during transport and possibly during storage, thus having a potential for leakage.
The table and cabinet combination for fly tying of U.S. Pat. No. 4,894,581 and the cart for tying fishing lures of U.S. Pat. No. 5,302,014 appear to be efficient units for home use. They are quite large, require a lot of storage space and are generally not portable enough to take camping.
Some fly fisherman use common fishing tackle boxes to carry their fly tying tools and materials in. Unfortunately, very few of the supplies required by a fly tier safely fit in the compartments of these boxes. There is still a need for alternative fly tying kits.